27. The Story of the Good Samaritan

What the Story Says

1. Did the expert in the Jewish law really want to know how to have eternal life?

   No, he only wanted to show that Jesus was teaching wrongly (#27-01).

2. Where did Jesus tell the man to find the answer to his question?

   Jesus asked the man to see what was written in God’s law (#27-01).

3. What did Jesus say would happen to the man if he did what God’s law told him to do?

   Jesus said the man would have eternal life if he did what God’s law told him to do (#27-02).

4. Why did the man ask Jesus who his neighbor was?

   The man wanted to show people that he was living correctly (#27-03).

5. Why did Jesus tell a story to the man?

   Jesus told the man a story in order to answer his question about who was his neighbor (#27-04).

6. What did the priest and the Levite do when they saw the injured man?

   The priest and the Levite both ignored the injured man and did not help him (#27-06), (#27-07).

7. Why was it surprising that the Samaritan helped the injured Jewish man?

   The Samaritans and the Jews hated each other (#27-08).

8. Which of the men was merciful to the injured man?

   The Samaritan was the only one who was merciful to the injured man (#27-11).

9. What did Jesus tell the expert in the Jewish law to do?

   Jesus told the expert in the Jewish law to be merciful to people in need, just as the Samaritan in the story did to the injured Jewish man (#27-11).

What the Story Means to Us

1. Why was it surprising that Jesus asked the expert in the Jewish law about what was written in God’s law?

   The man knew far more about the Jewish law than any other person in Israel. He continually studied it and taught it to others. However, he did not really understand what the law meant. Therefore, Jesus started questioning him about the law so that he could show the man that he did not really know what God’s law taught.

2. Why do you think the man asked Jesus who his neighbor was?

   The man knew God’s law said to love his neighbor as himself. But he also knew that he did not love other people as he should. Therefore, he asked about his neighbor because he was hoping that he only needed to love a few specific people in order to obey the law.

3. Why might Jesus have chosen to talk to this man about a priest and a Levite?

   The Jews considered the priests and Levites to be the most spiritual people in Israel. They also considered the experts in the law to be very much like the priests and the Levites. Because the experts studied and taught God’s law, people assumed they knew more about God than other people did.

4. Why might the expert in the Jewish law have been offended when Jesus compared the actions of the priest and the Levite to the actions of the Samaritan?

   The expert in the Jewish law considered the priests and the Levites to be good people, but he hated the Samaritan. He thought all Samaritans were sinners. However, in the story that Jesus told him, the Samaritan was the only person who acted kindly to the injured Jewish man.

5. How much did the Samaritan show mercy to the injured man?

   The Samaritan did not merely help the injured man a little bit. Instead, he did more for the injured man than anyone would expect him to do. He bandaged him, took him to the inn, and paid all of the expenses for the man.

6. What does the story tell us about loving our neighbor?

   The Samaritan saw another person who had a serious need. Although the man was a stranger from a people that the Samaritans hated, he felt compassion for him. He took care of the man, doing more than was necessary or expected to help him. He treated the injured man as he would like to be treated himself if he was in need. This is what it means to be a neighbor to someone.

Summary

The expert in the law who came to Jesus did not believe in Jesus, and he did not really understand God’s law. Instead, he wanted to embarrass Jesus. Jesus knew this, and so he questioned the man about the law. He then told a story that showed how a follower of God should treat other people. God gives eternal life to people who believe in him and obey him, rather than to people who hold powerful religious positions. When the simple Samaritan was merciful to the injured man, he acted more like God than the most religious people in Israel.